Layers
by SoldierNoodles
Summary: If they told you that you had to give up what you love for who you love, could you do it? AU, Ino x Gaara.


_This is a bit jumpy, but I do what I have to to create a solid foundation. Please bear with me, also Gaara's point of view will not be exposed often!_

"_**Of love, and of confusion."**_

* * *

Football games were something that every college student enjoyed; whether they said they did or didn't. Here, we all smiled, we cried, we shouted, we whispered- but most of all, we had fun. In the heat of the summer, clothed in chiffon dresses, or in the worst of winter, draped in furs and shawls. We took an excess amount of photos and shared them via social media, we cursed our players and hooted at our offenders. We would head home drunk to a small, cubicle dorm, and puke in its corners. Sometimes, in my case, and more often than not, we would go to a party, any frat, any sorority, house or apartment, and party.

_Party_- until we knew that we'd miss the day after tomorrow's organic chemistry lectures.

And, it was a late summer night that I realized I had missed that organic chemistry lecture.

Sighing, I rubbed my temples, there was still a throbbing reminiscent of my hangover, one I was beginning to deeply regret. The weather was beautiful; clear skies, puffy white clouds in the light of the full moon, and then me, seated comfortably on the bleachers of UGA's recreational field. This, of course, was not standard procedure for me- normally, at eight-thirty; I would be _listening_ to the lecture, or actually studying. My physics professor suggested taking our class outdoors for some fresh air, she seemed to be the only one who needed it though; she looked close to having a mental breakdown of some sort. The stadium lights were blinding to look at, and I quickly noticed that, out here, it was impossible to focus.

"You throw balls like you're firing hand-held missiles, I fucking swear."

"I'm glad you didn't take up any of your baseball offers, you would have murdered your catcher."

There were some football players out tonight. Or from what it seemed some football and baseball players, in the fluorescent lighting you could make out a single redhead from across the field, he was slow moving, and donning some black sweatpants- he was missing his shirt. I put down my pen, squinting to get a better look at him.

"Get it! Gaara, get it! _Geeeeeeet it!_

He came thundering down the field, his neon blue sneakers shooting off reflective sparks every time they came under the direct lighting of the stadium lights, the swarm of men came close behind him, about fifteen of them, and nine in front. With outstretched arms he reached for the declining football, whipping his head around before taking off with it after a successful catch. He ran down the field in a curved motion, towards us, and then past us. He had tucked the ball against his body, forcing it against his bicep and forearm, sprinting with his body bent at an angle and breathing hard, seconds later he slowed, tossing the ball on the floor and leaving it for his friends to retrieve it.

"Oooo- Killem'!"

"Sabaku destroys it again, and again."

"Homeboy ain't even sweating."

The redhead shook hands with a few, bumping shoulders, and patting backs before retreating towards the bleachers.

He seemed to be staring at me while he walked, sauntering about as he wiped his face. I looked around, feeling awkward, when I noticed a Gatorade water bottle and an iPhone situated across from me on the cool metal bench. His face was stoic and unchanging when he reached the bleacher, falling onto it with his legs spread wide and a silent sigh. Sweat beaded around his forehead, and the outdoor lighting contoured and caught every muscular indention as he drank his Gatorade.

"_Ino!"_

Bitch-tits. That scared me.

"_What?"_ I whispered as threateningly as I could; damn Karin nearly killed me,

"Do you know him?"

"No,"

"You do, actually." _Well fuck_, leave it to Karin to tell me who I do and don't know, "That's our quarterback, duh. Stop staring so hard."

Gaara Sabaku, University of Georgia's starting running back. He was known for being extraordinarily _silent, _apparently estranged from his family, and was literally only ever seen on game days. Except for today, obviously. I turned my head to look forward, staring at him through my peripheral vision. His skin was pale for somebody who was in the sun practicing almost all the time, his hair was endlessly red, and his body was- godlike, toned and rippling. Sexy- truthfully.

I turned my attention to my professor who was finally bringing the lecture to an end; it was now around nine-fifteen.

"Gaara, are you going back to your dorm?"

"Come get something to eat man, you're huge, you gotta be hungry."

Between my class of fifty-plus exiting the bleachers, and Gaara's loud friends I was sure no one would notice me being nosey; so I turned my head to listen to them again.

"You got anything in mind?" the question was directed towards Gaara, who thought for a moment:

"Shower." He said, plainly.

His friends laughed, a lean blonde patting his shoulder obnoxiously, "Okay, we'll go eat, enjoy your shower bro."

I began packing my binder away as he and his friends began leaving the field.

**[We Don't Care]**

I had never seen anyone with such green eyes; even more so, I'd never seen someone express so much_ with _their eyes.

Gaara Sabaku most definitely spoke, just not with his mouth.

He had past my room in a pace so slow he might've seemed like he was hovering had I been a little more half-awake. His hair was slightly damp, making the ends of some areas seem black in contrast to his bold red tresses; he was wearing a thin tank top that left an expanse of skin underneath his arms exposed. It seemed as if he was looking past me at first, but he acknowledged me with a barely visible nod and kept about his path. On my toes, I padded across my dorm; it was early Sunday morning, everyone on the fourth floor of Rutherford left their doors open for open communication. I heard that Gaara lived in one of the fraternity homes, and that he held high stature there, why he would be floating through ECV was not registering. Pulling my hair over my shoulder, I poked my head around my room entrance, toothbrush still at work against my teeth.

Down the hall Gaara blocked a third of Tyrese, who lived at the end of the fourth floor, I squinted to get a better look as more guys filed around them,

"It was a shit play." I heard, "I don't even know why coach chewed you out, you scored a forty-yard touch down from that. I'm sorry man."

Gaara said something, I guess, his back was turned to me but everyone had turned their attention to him,

"Yeah, you carry the team on your back G, we got you."

Gaara had shifted his weight when Tyrese noticed me peering out of my dorm room.

_Shit._

I shuffled back into my dorm, tripping over the welcome mat as I hurdled towards my bathroom, spitting into the sink and sticking my face under the faucet and dropping my toothbrush. I could hear the group traveling to my room,

"Hinata! Look out, we've got visitors!"

I heard the shuffling of my roommate before I'd actually seen her; I craned my neck around the bathroom wall just in enough time to see her room door close.

"Ino?" That was Tyrese again, I pulled my hair over my left shoulder and crossed my arms, "Ino, c'mere I got a question."

"Hey Ty, yeah, whats'up?"

"This is Gaara," Tyrese smiled brightly, "He's UGA's quarterback."

I smiled at Gaara who opened his eyes a little wider then they previously had been; he slowly removed his hand from his pocket to initiate a handshake with me,

"Gaara is smarter than most of us on the team but recently coach has been complaining bout' his grade in his math class."

"What math are you in?" I asked Gaara.

"Differential equations."

I gaped.

"What?"

"Differential equations." He repeated,

"Are you a math major?"

"No, software engineering."

"Holy shit, how do you play football and study for classes like that?"

Gaara thought for a moment and shrugged monotonously.

"Well," I stood up straight, "I'm in the same math, if you ever want to study just drop by- or here let me give you my number."

As I entered my contact information into Gaara's phone Tyrese had decided to get noisy, "She's hot right?"

Gaara avoided the question.

"She's clean and she's smart and she's chill as fuck."

Gaara grunted at him.

"Okay here." I said loudly, glaring at Ty from Gaara's side, "I don't have class today so if you want you can stop by around six and we can get something to eat too."

"Ooooooooooooo~!"

"Ty, shut up." I attempted to crush him with my glare, "Okay get out, both of you." I placed my hand on Gaara's midsection, pushing him back until he turned around on his own and walked out the door with a hooting Tyrese.

**[We Don't Care]**

At five thirty there was a hefty knock at my door.

I looked up from my position on the floor to stare at the kitchen entrance; I'd been sitting on the floor of the living room letting the sun wash over me from windows when I heard the disturbance. Sighing, I trotted to the door, eager to get back into the sun,

"Hello?"

Oh.

"Hey,"

I'd completely forgotten about Gaara. I invited him inside, "Have you eaten yet?"

"No."

He stood in the kitchen, towering above everything, I gestured for him to come to living room only two footsteps away,

"Okay well tell me what you need help with and we'll grab a bite afterwards- sound good?"

"Yeah, lets do that."

He caught me off guard for a moment; that was the most amount of words he'd used to talk to me since _differential equations. _On his back a Nike duffel bag with the UGA G embodied into it above his last name bore a small amount of items. He pulled his math binder and textbook out along with a green pen,

"Thanks for this," He said softly as he opened the heavy book across his lap,

"Anytime," I smiled, pulling my legs underneath me and leaning towards him on the couch.

We had spent an hour on IVP's and Laplace transformations when Gaara began to soften his posture next to me; it'd taken about twenty minutes for him to actually start asking questions,

"It's really annoying that you have to take so many steps to actually do the whole equation but the more you do it the more naturally it will come."

The redhead looked at me and nodded, he stretched his legs and closed his eyes.

"Want to get something to eat?"

"Yeah."

"Okay wait here, I'm going to change."

I left Gaara on the couch, bounding towards my room to pull on some strappy sandals a skirt and a shirt, "Lets go!" I said as I reemerged, "Time to celebrate the start of a beautiful friendship!"

**[We Don't Care] GAARA POV**

She whisked passed me in a small skirt that made her legs seem longer than they already were, the sun made her hair seem almost white in its radiance and her eyes sparkled even when she wasn't smiling. Standing up I pulled the duffel bag back onto my back and followed her out, watching the hem of her skirt as it bounced around her mid-thigh.

"What sounds good about now…" She wondered aloud, when we had reached the outside of her dorm she slowed her pace, falling to my side. She looked at me, and when I didn't answer she stopped in her tracks.

"Considering the fact that you could probably eat all the food in my dining hall, I think we should go somewhere where you can pack it in."

The shirt she was wearing allowed a bit more than a sliver of midsection to show, I wasn't sure if she played any sports but she had the figure of a female athlete. Watching as she pulled her blonde hair into a ponytail she told me that she had decided on Five Guys, a place I was familiar with that was located not to far from my dorm.

"Sound good?" She piped,

"Yeah,"

She talked the entire route, reviewing the math in her head and talking about fashion, asking me about football. We were hardly past Ramsey when I noticed that Ino was quite close to me, her ponytail would beat my back and her thin arms would brush against mine. She was hardly bothered by it, that or the stares we were receiving from the other students on campus,

"Do people stop you and ask to take pictures?"

"Yeah,"

"Do you let them?"

"We aren't supposed to say no."

She was silent for a moment, "How come?"

"Our supporters take good care of us." I said,

"Oh yeah, that makes sense."

I nodded.

"So what do you do for fun around here? Do you like to hang out?"

"Don't have much time, I like to read."

She skipped a little, "So you're alone most of the time?"

"With my teammates usually."

She was silent then, only speaking to order her meal and say "thank you" when I held the door open for her as she bounded past me into the burger joint. She picked out our table and took a seat, promptly crossing her legs.

I wondered if I had upset her.

**[We Don't Care] INO POV**

Gaara seemed down when he returned to our table; he sat down slowly, rolled his neck and blinked. I reached out to grab the brown bag holding our meal but he batted my hands away, tearing the bag down the side and handing me my burger then dumping the fries onto the makeshift mat he had made from the bag.

"Are you okay?" I asked him as he shoved a large portion of one of his two burgers into his mouth,

He seemed shocked by the question, swallowing hard before answering me:

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I nodded before smiling gently at him, "Practice starts in an hour." He added.

I glanced down at my phone situated on the table, it read 6:00, I was sure we'd be done in half an hour,

"Oh, do you not want to go?"

"We have four games left in the season." He almost whispered, "I'm not dreading it."

I smiled again; he seemed to be looking past me, however, "Well that's good, I bet you're tired."

"Yeah," He said, "you should come watch us."

"Huh?"

"Practice."

I was dumbfounded, "Do you really want me to? I mean, I don't mind."

"We can study after."

"Okay, let's do it." I wondered if he ever got tired,

He started on his next burger, "Coach is really friendly."

"That's nice, he must be like a cool uncle then," I was doing my best to keep the conversation going, "must be pretty fun."

"Like a dad." He said through a mouth full of food.

His hair seemed overgrown as we spoke; he blinked his bangs away from his face a few times when he answered me, in single syllables most of the time. I noticed earlier when he stopped by my dorm that he had changed his clothes too. He now wore some silver Nike sweatpants with pockets and a sleeveless hoody that was a dark maroon color with white, double stitching.

"It's cool to see you out there on the field, you know." When he looked at me from across the table and crumpled up the foil that was previously wrapped around his burger, I added: "You must work hard."

"I have to."

I nodded, and he still seemed to be looking past me. But managed to grab a hand full of fries before wadding up the bag and getting up to throw it away. He came back a second later, standing near me while I rose from my seat,

"All right, where are you guys practicing today?"

"Intermural fields,"

"Oh we're gonna have to take the bus,"

"Yeah."

We walked to the closest bus stop and waited. When it arrived, as usual, Gaara had me board first while he lumbered behind me, the bus was full and he was being assaulted by the curious stares of his peers while he held onto the upper head handle of the bus directly in front of me. I wanted to ask if it was bothering him but he had squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, I remained silent the entire ride. When we arrived to the intermural fields Gaara had pointed to a comfy looking lawn seat placed near some older women who were watching the other football players,

"Here," He asserted, holding his hand out with the duffle bag dangling by its straps,

"Want me to hold it?"

"Yeah," he said shyly, "Please."

I bit my bottom lip at him and snatched away the bag, laughing, "Okay well I'll be over there then! You know where to find me."

He nodded and then headed off in the direction of some huddled golf carts.

The women seated around me were all parents of the players; they lived nearby the college or were in town to visit. I learned from them that Gaara was quite the mystery but his actions weren't standoffish, more so awkward and unknowing then anything.

"He's a very sweet boy," said a brunette who sat a ways behind me, "He's very confident and very quiet, but I have never met his parents."

_Well_, I thought, _that would be a problem with the football moms._

"He has been here for three years and I have never once seen a mother or father, but yet, his sister and brother make it to every game? That is unacceptable and they need to consider how he feels about that."

I looked over at the expanse of cut grass. Gaara's coach was standing to his right, shouting as the quarterback threw footballs to running receivers. He was sweating and wearing a pair of black gloves now, spitting in the grass. The sky above was paling now, blue and pink pastels creating a clam backdrop against the trees around the intermural fields. It was 9:50 when Gaara begins trotting my way in a slow jog, his wet hair bounced against his forehead in rhythm with his strides,

"Ten minutes," he panted when he took his duffle bag from me and sprinted back to the growing huddle of sweaty men,

"He seems fond of you young lady," I looked over to see Mrs. Fonza smiling, she was a redshirted freshman's mother and very dedicated to her son, "He doesn't seem as comfortable with his teammates as he does with you. And that's saying something cause that interaction was only about three seconds!"

She laughed loud and obnoxiously but as Gaara reproached our area she quieted down, offering him a welcoming smile.

I giggled, squirming when she suddenly reached over to clap my back.

"Do you want to use my shower?"

Gaara whipped his head towards me when I suggested the idea, "No."

"I don't mind, Gaara."

"I'm fine," he said curtly,

I sighed, after listening to the gossip of the parents I felt that I wanted to be closer to him if he'd let me. We got back to my dorm, Hinata was home and she warmly regarded Gaara who nodded and shook her hand. Everything went as planned; we studied and just as I was beginning to wonder when he'd invite himself out he fell asleep, 11:00 sharp.

"He's really…. Cute." Hinata whispered, his head was cocked to the side and the rise and fall of his chest was obvious,

"I think I should send him home… I feel like he wants to stay but won't say it."

Hinta looked interested, but remained silent. I shook Gaara awake fifteen minutes later, thinking that I should at least let him take a quick nap before sending him off,

He woke slowly, rubbing his eyes and licking his lips.

"Go home kid," I cooed softly, "You need some rest."

He nodded his head and left, thanking me almost silently.

* * *

_Gaara may seem a little OOC but I'm starting him off with the "shippuden mentality", aka, he's not completely silent, socially inept and he is not a sad helpless puppy (well he is but he's not). Also, you know when you guys review I can write a better story right- who doesn't love motivation and compliments?_


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